New Orleans Saints: The 2012 Defense Broke a Record and the Bank

The 2012 New Orleans Saints defense set the NFL record for most yards allowed in a single season—and broke the bank in the process

The Saints defense allowed 7,042 yards in 2012—shattering the Baltimore Colts' 31-year-old record of 6,793 yards.

Head coach Sean Payton and newly hired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan have already been hard at work to improve the Saints defense. New Orleans signed cornerback Keenan Lewis to a five-year, $25 million deal. Analysts praised the signing, including SI.com, which gave it an "A" grade.

However, it's unlikely Ryan plans to stop with just one good signing. Expect the Saints to deal out a little more cash to bring in a few more players to fit Ryan's new 3-4 scheme. Fortunately, the Saints have some flexibility with the salary cap due to Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma taking pay cuts.

Yet if the Saints could afford to use the pay cuts of Smith and Vilma to sign a player to an average of $5 million per year, just how much were Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, and the other starters on the worst defense in NFL history getting paid?

2012 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DEPTH CHART: DEFENSE

Position

Player

Average Salary

DT

Brodrick Bunkley

$5 million

DT

Sedrick Ellis

$6.7 million

DE

Will Smith

$10.2 million

DE

Cameron Jordan

$1.9 million

OLB

David Hawthorne

$3.8 million

MLB

Curtis Lofton

$5.5 million

OLB

Jonathan Vilma

$7.1 million

CB

Jabari Greer

$5.3 million

CB

Patrick Robinson

$1.9 million

S

Roman Harper

$6.3 million

S

Malcolm Jenkins

$3.8 million

Total =

$57.5 million

The 2012 Saints' starting 11 players on defense were making a total average salary of $57.5 million per year. Whether $57.5 million is a reasonable price depends on the product purchased. The table below shows the New Orleans Saints' defensive statistics for 2012.

2012 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DEFENSIVE STATS

Category

Statistic

NFL Rank

Total Yards Allowed in 2012

7,042

No. 32

Points Allowed Per Game

28.4

No. 31

Passing Yards Allowed Per Game

292.6

No. 31

Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game

147.6

No. 32

As per the information in the table above, New Orleans paid approximately $57.5 million for the worst defense in the NFL. Compare that to the 2012 Seattle Seahawks, whose defensive stats are in the table below.

2012 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DEFENSIVE STATS

Category

Statistic

NFL Rank

Total Yards Allowed in 2012

4,899

No. 4

Points Allowed Per Game

15.3

No. 1

Passing Yards Allowed Per Game

203.1

No. 6

Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game

103.1

No. 10

As is indicated in the table above, Seattle had one of the best defenses in the league in 2012. But how much did it pay for its defense's performance?

2012 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DEPTH CHART: DEFENSE

Position

Player

Average Salary

DT

Brandon Mebane

$5 million

DT

Alan Branch

$3.5 million

DE

Red Bryant

$7 million

DE

Chris Clemons

$7.3 million

OLB

Leroy Hill

$1.6 million

MLB

Bobby Wagner

$1.1 million

OLB

K.J. Wright

$630k

CB

Richard Sherman

$560k

CB

Brandon Browner

$430k

S

Kam Chancellor

$500k

S

Earl Thomas

$4.2 million

Total =

$31.8 million

As shown above, Seattle's starting 11 players on defense had a total average salary of $31.8 million.

So here's a side-by-side comparison of the Saints and Seahawks defenses in 2012.

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

$57.5 million

Total Average Salaries

$31.8 million

7,042

Total Yards Allowed

4,899

28.4

Points Allowed Per Game

15.3

292.6

Passing Yards Allowed Per Game

203.1

147.6

Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game

103.1

Essentially, the Seattle Seahawks paid an average of $25.7 million less than the New Orleans Saints in 2012 for a much better defensive unit.